You probably take your smartphone for granted: it’s your portal to the internet, an instant messaging machine, a video recorder, music player and, of course, a phone. It’s probably also your primary camera. Be grateful for it: smartphone cameras have come a long way.

See that split-screen snapshot up there? That’s almost a decade of progress. The folks at All About Symbian dug up an old Nokia N95 and pitted it against a modern Nokia 930, taking the same shots at the same location and comparing 1:1 crops of their native resolution. It’s no surprise that the modern phone does better, but step back a moment to appreciate that difference: the grainy, slightly blown out shot on the right half of that image represents the absolute best 2007 had to offer. By today’s standards it’s barely mediocre. That’s progress, and that’s awesome.

The site’s write up is short and sweet, showing off both cameras in a variety of settings and comparing their high and low points. The conclusion is pretty obvious, but it’s a fascinating look at how far our phone technology has come in a little less than a decade. That said, in the right hands the old N95 can still produce gorgeous images. Just check out this old Flickr Gallery. [All About Symbian, Flickr]